infrequently a few

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "infrequently a few" is not standard and may sound awkward in written English. It could be used in contexts where you want to express that only a small number of occurrences happen rarely. Example: "Infrequently a few people attend the meetings." Alternative expressions include "rarely some" and "seldom a few."

Science

News & Media

Academia

Formal & Business

Wiki

Encyclopedias

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

1 human-written examples

The goat ranch, situated on a hill approximately 800 meters from the creek, contained approximately 40 goats, 6 horses/ponies, and, infrequently, a few cows.

Plosone

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

59 human-written examples

Annette, she says, had worked only infrequently until a few months before her death, when her heroin and crack addiction became more desperate.

The Guardian

Newbies are predominantly recreational users, and tend to use cannabis relatively infrequently, only a few times a year.

Forbes

Volcán El Reventador (Ecuador) is inaccessible, and field measurements can only be made infrequently at a few locations in its caldera.

Journal of Applied Volcanology

The anterior type of sacroiliac fracture dislocation has been described infrequently by a few authors, most of which have occurred in a paediatric age group [2, 3, 4, 5, 6].

Strategies in Trauma and Limb Reconstruction

The species is distributed in subtropical and tropical locations throughout the southeastern United States, as well as Central and South America, and has been collected infrequently in a few locales in Africa.

Wikipedia

Moderate or strong expression of KIT and phosphorylated (activated) KIT have been detected in tumor endothelial cells of glioblastomas, but only infrequently in a few other histological types of human cancer (21).

Brain Pathology

Trains rumble along in an unhurried fashion and some destinations are served infrequently, so allow a few days to make the most of this diverse region.

The Guardian - Travel

As a result, people visited newspaper sites infrequently, looked at a few pages and then vanished off to someone else's website.Another early mistake was for papers to save their best journalists for print.

The Economist

Barres was an outspoken advocate for gender equity in the sciences, not infrequently digressing for a few minutes during his scientific talks to point out the differences he'd personally experienced in how other scientists treated him when they perceived him as a woman versus as a man.

Stanford University

The community has very poor amenities of its own: a few, infrequently open and badly stocked shops, and no chemist (though there are three dilapidated pubs).

The Economist

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

When using the phrase "infrequently a few", ensure the context clearly conveys both the rarity of the occurrence and the small quantity involved. This phrase is best suited for situations where both aspects are important to emphasize.

Common error

Avoid using "infrequently a few" when only one aspect (either the infrequency or the small quantity) is truly relevant. If the focus is solely on the rarity, use "infrequently" alone. If it's only about the small number, use "a few".

Linguistic Context

The phrase "infrequently a few" functions as an adverbial quantifier, modifying a verb or clause to indicate that an action or event occurs rarely and involves a small number. Ludwig AI indicates that this phrase is not standard.

Expression frequency: Uncommon

Frequent in

Science

29%

News & Media

29%

Academia

14%

Less common in

Formal & Business

14%

Wiki

7%

Encyclopedias

7%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, the phrase "infrequently a few" is an adverbial quantifier that indicates both the rarity of an occurrence and the small quantity involved. While grammatically acceptable, it's not a very common or standard phrase, as Ludwig AI outlines. The usage contexts vary from scientific to general, but its register tends toward neutral to formal, as suggested by the sources where it appears. If you need to express this meaning, consider more common alternatives like "rarely some" or "seldom a handful" for clearer and more impactful communication.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

rarely some

Replaces "infrequently" with "rarely" and "a few" with "some", keeping the overall meaning of a small number of rare occurrences.

seldom a handful

Substitutes "infrequently" with "seldom" and "a few" with "a handful", indicating a small quantity occurring infrequently.

occasionally a couple

Uses "occasionally" instead of "infrequently" and "a couple" in place of "a few", suggesting slightly more frequent occurrences but still limited in number.

infrequently several

Maintains "infrequently" but replaces "a few" with "several", indicating a slightly larger, though still limited, number of occurrences.

rarely a small number

Replaces "infrequently" with "rarely" and "a few" with "a small number", providing a more explicit and formal alternative.

on rare occasions, a few

Adds "on rare occasions" to emphasize the infrequency, keeping "a few" to indicate a small quantity.

seldom more than a couple

Replaces "infrequently" with "seldom" and specifies "more than a couple" to emphasize the limited number.

not often a few

Uses a more direct and informal phrasing with "not often" in place of "infrequently", retaining "a few".

infrequently just a few

Adds "just" before "a few" to emphasize the limited quantity, while keeping the original "infrequently".

hardly ever a few

Replaces "infrequently" with "hardly ever", conveying a similar meaning of rare occurrence, while retaining "a few".

FAQs

How can I use "infrequently a few" in a sentence?

Use "infrequently a few" to describe situations where something happens rarely and involves only a small number of items or instances. For example, "Infrequently a few visitors venture beyond the main trail."

What are some alternatives to "infrequently a few"?

You can use alternatives like "rarely some", "seldom a handful", or "occasionally a couple" depending on the context.

Is it correct to say "infrequently a few"?

While grammatically acceptable, "infrequently a few" is not a very common phrase. It's more typical to use alternatives that are more concise or flow better, such as "rarely some".

What's the difference between "infrequently a few" and "rarely some"?

"Infrequently a few" and "rarely some" are similar in meaning, both describing a small number of infrequent occurrences. The choice between them often depends on stylistic preference or the specific nuance you want to convey.